Michael Nowland

This
colourful ancestor, the first of the family to come to Australia, was I think an
Irishman. When in his early 20’s, he fell foul of the law in London and was
tried at the Old Bailey in 1793 for “feloniously making an assault on the Kings
Highway on William Lawrence. Putting him in the fear and danger of his life and
taking against his will one bridle value 13s” and also of “feloniously stealing
on 13 February one black gelding value £10”

Michael
claimed he was innocent of the crimes and was in fact acquitted of the bridle
charge for lack of evidence, but the perpetration of these daring predawn
robberies having at the end of the day considerably left his “borrowed” mount to
be stabled at an inn, was later identified by the stable hand as the prisoner,
so for the theft of the horse the verdict was “guilty” the sentence was death.
After some anxious months in the Capital cells at Newgate, however, Michael was
reprieved and ordered “to be transported to some of his majesty’s Colonies and
Plantations in America” (although they no longer existed) for the term of his
natural life.

Exchanging one grim prison for another, Michael waited on the rotting prison
hulks at Woolwich until April 1784 for a ship to America.

Four
days after the “Mercury” sailed the prisoners mutinied, fearing they were
destined for slavery in Virginia. They succeeded in taking over the ship and
steered for Ireland, but a gale forcing them to shelter in Torbay harbour, many
of the escaping convicts were seized leaving the ship. Michael managed to get
away but was arrested three weeks later in bath and suspected of being a
mutineer. Not waiting to be identified, he broke out of the gaol and headed for
Bristol, hoping to perhaps a ship for Ireland, but he was retaken at Bristol and
returned to Newgate charged with “felony on the high seas”.

Michael
spent another eighteen months incarcerated at Newgate before it was decided he
should remain under his former sentence of “transport for life” and was sent to
Portsmouth where convicts awaiting shipment were chained in the wretched,
overcrowded hulks by night and employed by day digging moats or anything other
of work required in the building of fortifications. Michael laboured four years
at Portsmouth before his transportation order was changed from America to The
East Coast of NSW and he boarded ship once more to sail with the second fleet
convicts leaving for the newly established Penal Settlement in the Antipodes.
Bad as conditions were for convicted felons in their homeland, they feared exile
and penal servitude in an unknown land more, so a rumour of mutiny coming to the
officers’ ears, the convicts on the “Scarborough” were restricted below deck and
the vogue became one of sickness and death as the prisoners succumbed to the
appalling conditions they were forced to travel under. In spite of Michaels
previous years of imprisonment, he survived the voyage and after one month in
respite at Port Jackson was assigned to the settlement on Norfolk Island,
arriving there on August 7, 1790.

On that
beautiful, Island Michael settled down to the allotted farm work and proving
successful, was made an overseer. He married young lass from Birmingham serving
a seven year sentence for theft and their 3 eldest children were born on the
Island. Before the end of the century Michael, having proved “useful and well
behaved overseer” received his emancipation and a grant of fifteen acres of
land, but he chose to follow to the mainland the man mainly responsible for the
improvement in his lot, Philip Gidley King, 1788-96 Commandant of Norfolk Island
and govern of NSW from 1800-1806

In 1802
Gov. King appointed Michael to the position of superintendent of convicts at
Castle Hill, a post he retained til the king left the colony in 1806. Michael
then retired to the Hawkesbury to farm. He also built a punt and in 1812 began
the first ferry service across the Hawkesbury River. It plied between
Wilberforce and Pitt Town. The project however was not financial success and
Michael had to surrender his punt to his debtors. For a time he also held the
post of constable of lower Wilberforce, but life at the Hawkesbury had always
been a struggle, and survivor though he was, it finally overwhelmed him. He was
dismissed for drunkenness and died at Wilberforce on 31st October 1828.

Written by Lois Ready (Nowland).
Submitted by Nerilyn Cowen.

Would they believe it

When I consulted the
Hunter Valley Directory 1841 complied and edited in 1987 by Elizabeth Guilford,
I discovered that the names of two men who became ancestors of my children. This
book lists Charles Vout as a convict assigned to George Furber, who was a farmer
living with his wife, Honora, at West Maitland. Previously George had been a
publican at East Maitland.

Charles had been born at
Salle, Norfolk, England and arrived in Sydney in 1833 on the “Andromeda” after
being sentenced to seven years for stealing a watch. Later after committing
another crime, he found himself in Tasmania, where he married in 1855, Catherine
Bryan, a servant girl, who had arrived on “The Caroline Middleton” in 1854 from
Kilkenny in Ireland. They had ten children with Thomas being the youngest son.
When their mother died in 1884 Tasman and Margaret, the two youngest were cared
for by an older sister. When Charles died in 1897, aged 85 he was buried in
Hobart with Catherine.

Tasman came to the
Northern Rivers of NSW and married Elizabeth Margetts, born in Casino in 1880,
at Billinudgel on 1st February, 1904. They had three children, George Alice and
Frederick my father, who married Deldorita Alcock, a descendant of George and
Honora Alcock, who came to Casino in 1852.

The second man listed
was Allen McDonald, a Shepard, who with his wife, Ann and family was at east
Maitland. They had arrived on the “William Nicol” in 1836 after sailing from the
Isle of Skye. Allen and Ann are both buried in the Catholic section of the
Inverell cemetery. Allen and Ann’s son, Angus, with his wife Mary, Lulham came
to the Richmond River of NSW. Their family included James, who married Mary
Connolly in 1896 and they had six children with Felix as the eldest son. He
married Alma Cox and their two sons were John and Gregory, who married Patricia,
Fred and Dell Vout’s eldest daughter. When Greg and Pat’s four children were
born they were descendants of Allen McDonald and Charles Vout, who, I’m sure,
would never have thought they would share common descendants.

One reason I became
interested in family history with the Casino group, 20 years ago was to discover
information about my grandfather Tasman Volt, who died when I was 10. I was
fascinated about his coming from Tasmania.

Any inquiries welcomed
by P. McDonald, P.O Box 254 Casino NSW. 2470

The Luck of the Irish

By Patricia McDonald

One
reason I started family history was to answer questions that my mother
had. Her relative had been killed by a piano. HOW? WHEN? WHERE? WHY?

Daniel O’Grady and his sister Mary arrived in Australia in April, 1884 on
board the “Cambodia” after leaving their parents, Patrick and Bridget and
their brother Patrick Bodyke, County Clare, Ireland. They came to Coraki
to live, where there Uncle James O’Grady and his family were living.

In 1890, Mary married Timothy Alcock,
the youngest child of George and Hannah Alcock, who came to Casino
in 1852, where George was a policeman. Timothy and Mary’s family included
five children and both are buried in Casino. Descendants still live in the
area.

I used to tell my mother that as Daniel
was Irish he was probably celebrating St Patrick’s Day and an accident had
occurred. Although I was only a teenager I was very close to the facts.

St Patrick’s Day (17th
March) in 1895 was a Sunday so no celebrations were held at Coraki on that
day because of religious beliefs. On the Saturday a sports days was
held and Daniel competed successfully in the foot races.

A dinner was to be held at the
Commercial Hotel, which was owned by Mrs Annie Mobbs, a cousin of Daniel,
on the Monday night. It was necessary to move a piano from one place to
another, the sample room of the hotel.

Daniel and a friend took a horse and
cart to collect the piano. After it was loaded, Daniel climbed into the
cart to balance the piano while the other man led the horse. When they
were almost at the hotel the cart wheel went into a rut, causing the piano
to tumble from the cart, taking Daniel with it. The piano hit Daniel on
the head, causing major injuries and his instant death.

His body was taken to the hotel and the
doctor was called. His sister Mary, living in Casino, was informed. A
magisterial inquiry was held the next morning and death by accident was
returned. The funeral, attended by many shocked friends was held later in
the day and a wake followed as “Dan” was a popular member of the community

By using the Irish phonebook I have
been able to make contact with relatives still living in the village of
Bodyke.